Great Lent Meatfare Sunday (audio sermon included at the end)
Meatfare Sunday (audio sermon included at the end)
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Today, dear brothers and sisters, is the Meat-fare Sunday since it is officially the last day before Easter for eating meat. It commemorates Christ's parable of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46). We are reminded this day that it is not enough for us to see Jesus, to see ourselves as we are, and to come home to God as his prodigal sons. We must also be his sons by following Christ, his only-begotten divine Son, and by seeing Christ in men and by serving Christ through them. Our salvation and final judgment will depend upon our deeds, not only on our intentions or even on the mercies of God. There has to be our own personal cooperation with God and obedience to Him.
... For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you took me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and in prison and you visited me. For truly I say to you, if you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me (Mt 25).
These words of today’s Gospel indicate the necessity of good deeds for the one who want to be saved. If we lack of them or lazy to do good deeds, than we cannot truly love God. If we do not love our neighbor, then how can we talk about our love to God? In this situation our love to God does not make any sense because our neighbors are also created in God’s image as well as we are. This is very important to understand and to absorb that if we say that we love God but at the same time we hate our neighbors, then we cheat ourselves. In today’s Gospel Jesus clearly shows us what we have to do that on the last judgment day we would stand on His right side, that is His Kingdom.
We are saved not merely by prayer and fasting, not by "religious exercises" alone. In addition to this, serving Christ through his people can save us too. [Read the above verses]. So, our salvation depends on serving and helping all needy people toward which all piety and prayer is ultimately directed.
During the previous Sundays we read stories from the Gospel in where we saw God as a merciful Father, Who justifies the Publican, Who forgives His Prodigal Son and takes Him back to His house. Than we heard clear message from Jesus: repent and you will be saved, come to your senses, as the prodigal son and God will accept you again.
We cannot, however, take God's mercy for granted, and the Church makes this clear to us today, when it speaks to us about the Last Judgment, reminding us that God is not only a loving Father but also a righteous Judge. In the appointed Gospel reading, we hear about how the Son of Man will come at the end of the world to judge all men, when He will divide the righteous from the wicked "as a shep herd divides his sheep from the goats." Each man will receive reward for his deeds: those who have done good-who have shown compassion on their neighbor, feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and imprisoned, clothing the needy-will inherit everlasting life, while those who have neglected works of charity, who have not shown love to their neighbor, will go away into everlasting punishment.
So, today we heard another clear message from Jesus Christ: it is not enough to repent in our thoughts or with our feelings, or even to express it in words. The fruit of real repentance is a change in our way of life. During the Vespers for this Sunday, we chant:
Knowing the commandments of the Lord, let this be our way of life:
Then the judge of all the earth will say even to us: 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you.' On the very threshold of Great Lent, that is next Sunday, we commemorate the exclusion of Adam and Eve from Paradise. Here is an example of what happens when we do not fast, when we do not repent, when we do not change. Shall we remain outside the gates of Paradise, weeping in the darkness of our sins, far removed from God, or shall we hearken to the voice of the Church inviting us, urging us to "set out with joy upon the season of the Fast, and prepare ourselves for spiritual combat," that cleansed by fasting and the works of repentance, we may be led back into Paradise, into the everlasting joy of our Resurrected Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, we heard many times this story and all other preceding stories from the Gospel. Sometimes we get used to them so much that we cannot concentrate on them, as it is needed. Therefore, today I ask you to look through ourselves once again, to check ourselves using mighty words of the Gospel as a judge. If we see any unrighteous deeds or thoughts inside ourselves, let’s use oil of God’s mercy. It is never late to repent until we are alive. But after we die, we are going to be judged by Jesus Christ Himself. That is scary and horrible part for those who were in sins.
And the scariest part is that during the Last Judgment our unconfessed sins will be opened to see for everybody, for every person who ever lived on earth. So it depends on us what Jesus will say to us than. He is the righteous judge and there will not be misjudgment. Therefore let’s prepare ourselves, let’s get ready to stand in front of Jesus Christ our God Himself all the saints and all mankind on that dreadful day. Let us see in every person an image of Christ. Let’s help each other; let’s pray for each other; let’s start our salvation together. And may God help us on this hard way. Amen.
Audio Sermon
